A classic text for the study of jurisprudence and legal philosophy, this second edition contains an epilogue written by the author, H.L.A. Hart, but only discovered after his death. He defends his work against his critics, most notably Dworkin, Fuller and Finnis.

This work offers Hart's own final and powerful response to Dworkin in which he re-examines the foundations of his philosophy of law and illustrates how much of the criticism of his work stems from misunderstanding and confusion of thought.